Obama says private sector is fine — see the charts

6/10/2012

During a press conference Friday, President Barack Obama said the private sector “is doing fine,” a comment that drew immediate scorn from conservatives. (Read our story) House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, replied the private sector is “not doing well,” and Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney said the remarks show Obama is out of touch. Obama himself later offered a clarification to reporters, saying the economy is “not fine.” In any case, the data on the private sector — what MarketWatch interprets to mean “business” — offers multiple interpretations. Here are the charts of the relevant statistics.